The Dalish, the Noble, and the Bard
by Selena Shepard
Summary: When Leliana is kidnapped by an unknown enemy, Wardens Lyla and Alixon pretty much lose it. Will they push their differences and distaste of each other aside to save the woman they both love?


The sun had yet to fully rise on the morning sky, stars still visible. Lyla traced the constellations of the Creators in her mind as she remembered each tale. There wasn't much to do at camp. Sten and Alistair had gone hunting for food a while ago, and everyone else was sleeping, leaving only Lyla and Alixon's mabari Nero to guard camp. It was a quiet morning, and Lyla found her thoughts focusing on a certain redhead.

Leliana had captured her attention. She did not treat the elf like all the other shemlen, which came to much of a surprise to Lyla. All humans were aggressive monsters in the warden's eyes, and they deserved no remorse, no mercy. Yet Leliana was different. She showed her kindness, knew about her people as much as a human could possibly know. Not only that, but the bard was beautiful. The elf turned her head to where she knew Leliana's tent was. She was close enough to hear the bard shuffling in her bedroll, probably turning on her side. The corner of her eyes caught another tent: Alixon Cousland's tent.

That shemlen hid something. Whether it was a secret that could jeopardize their quest or not, Lyla could not tell. She was detached, cold. Lyla knew she could be uncontrolled, but Alixon was sometimes worse. Yet she showed strange kindness at times. There was one thing that irked the elf to no end, however. The obvious approaches the warrior made on Leliana.

Leliana was not hers, this she knew. She could choose anyone. But why choose someone so broken? Alixon was like a shattered eluvian; Lyla was just a merciless woman. _I'm starting to think both of us are broken…_

Sounds about the forest caught on her trained ears, making her sit up. Nero's ears perked as well and looked into the still dark and dense trees of the forest. The large creature stood, smelling the air before he began to growl and bark. Lyla unsheathed her dagger and axe as she peered into the forest. Nero's barks eventually roused the rest of the group awake, each going for their respective weapons.

"What is it, boy?" Alixon asked as she approached her faithful friend and Lyla.

"There is someone in the forest. A large group, it seems." Lyla supplied.

"We must—"

Heavily armed men charged from the forest suddenly, shouting with weapons raised in the air. Arrows began to fly onto them, only to be blocked by Alixon's shield. The rest of the group had awakened, spells and arrows flying in return to strike the attackers. With a battle cry, Lyla charged one of the men. dar'missan flashed as she struck the man in the shoulder at a weak point in his armor, slicing at the man's throat with her axe. She moved to another, quickly ending the shem's miserable, little life. From the corner of her eye, she saw Leliana being flanked as she rained arrows on their opponents archers hidden in the dense trees.

The elf dashed forward to Leliana, mercilessly killing everyone in her path. She lost herself in the bloodlust, her vision seeing only the river of blood dance before her as her blades drank in her enemy's life force. Briefly, she noticed that Sten and Alistair had joined them and were hacking away at more men. There seemed to be an infinite number of them, however, more and more surging from the darkness of the forest.

Lyla turned as she heard a cry and watched Alixon fall to her knees, her shoulder seeping with blood. Alistair bashed a man with his shield before he decapitated his fellow warden yet was quickly overrun with more men. She ran to offer assistance to him, noting that the spells seemed to be coming much slower. She watched as Morrigan strained with every spell that fell from slender fingers and staff and saw Wynne approach the fallen warrior. Clearly, the battle was not going their way.

Another cry nearly tore Lyla's heart out as she saw in horror a sword slice at Leliana's leg. The bloodlust returned to the Dalish elf and she charged. _These shem will not hurt her!_ Before she reached the redhead, an arrow struck Lyla's shoulder as three of their attackers engaged her. Through clenched teeth, she tore at the arrow, pulling it from her body. She swiped and hacked and tore through her enemies.

Another cry, this time of help, fell from the bard's lips before the pommel of a sword knocked her out. Lyla was still surrounded, Alistair and Sten were protecting Wynne and Morrigan, Alixon was unconscious on the ground, and an equally unconscious Leliana was being carried away. Lyla's blood burned and she let out a guttural scream, throwing herself at everyone as she tried to reach Leliana. The blood rage consumed her completely and she felt no pain when struck. The only priority was getting Leliana in time.

"Ma emma harel! Ar tu na'din! Ar tu na'lin emma mi!" Each swipe of her blades was followed by a curse as she killed her attackers. When Sten moved to her side, she charged into the forest where Leliana had been taken. She ran, searched, climbed the trees yet there was not a soul nor trace of the bard.

"Fenedhis! Argh!" The enraged Lyla continued her search but bore no fruit. "I must return to camp and tell the others."

* * *

The camp was a mess. Bodies, weapons, and blood covered the ground. Alixon was sitting on the ground as Wynne and Morrigan mended her shoulder. Alistair and Sten were piling up the bodies at the edge of camp.

"Leliana was taken!"

Emerald eyes snapped to her own. "What?" Alixon yelled, moving to stand only to be pulled down by both mages. "Let me go! Leliana is in danger!"

"You cannot do anything with a useless arm, Alixon." Wynne berated. "You must heal first."

"Maker's bloody breath, did you not hear? Leliana was taken!"

"Had she not been so careless perhaps she'd still—"

"Morrigan, don't!" Lyla all but growled at the mage, who simply clicked her tongue in turn.

Alistair called their attention. "Hey! There's a survivor!"

Lyla ran to Alistair where a man lied at his feet, squirming and writhing in pain as he clutched his leg. She drew her dagger and placed it on his throat. "Where is she, shem? Iras na ar falon?" She spat.

The man flinched, backing from the dagger only to have it cut in his skin as she pushed it down. "I—I don't—"

"Dirthera ar! By the Creators, you will tell me where you have her or I will make you suffer infinitely! Speak!"

"There's a camp!" The man replied, visibly shaking in fear. "We made camp deep in these woods, to the north. Your friend is there. Please, just don't kill me."

"Emma shem'nan." The dagger flashed as it slid across his throat, the blade slick with crimson. Lyla walked away as the man gurgled his last breath. She approached Alixon, who had managed to stand already. The warrior nodded, conceding the act as a just one.

"We must search for this camp. Leliana must not come to harm." Alixon spoke, determination laced into every word.

"I agree. Though this would not had happened if you had not fallen." Lyla answered.

Alixon's eyes widened. "What? How am I responsible?" She yelled. "If anything, you should have tried harder since you were closer."

"So it's all up to me? Shall I take on the Archdemon as well why you sip on tea?"

"Enough!" Intervened Wynne. "Throwing guilt around will not save Leliana. We must plan and replenish our strength to save her. You, however, cannot fight." She said to Alixon.

"I can more than fight, Wynne. My sword arm may be injured but I can still use my other arm, which is just as skilled in killing. I will not sit by as my closest friend remains in unknown danger."

"Wynne is right, Alixon." Alistair said. "You need to rest."

"Damn it! I am not going to sit on my arse while you all risk your lives to save Leliana. I am going and as leader, my decision is final!"

"You call yourself a leader when you cannot even save yourself." Lyla spat.

Had Alistair not grabbed Alixon in time, both she and Lyla would be coming to blows. The elf was more than ready to kick the lights out of her, but there were more important things to do.

"This arguing is foolish. If we are to rescue the woman, we must do so quickly or leave her there." Stent's stoic voice came.

"We're not leaving her." Alixon said, voice low and threatening. "Anyone else who suggests that again will be on my shit list. Now, we have to plan. Time is precious; we don't know what will happen to Leliana if we don't hurry."

"Dirthera na taren. Speak this plan of yours, then."

* * *

 **AN: What is this? Two wardens? And…is that Bert-Wrighty's warden? Yup! We were chatting when we came up with this idea and I just had to write it. Hope you enjoy it, Bert. :D I also hope I made justice with Lyla. This was incredibly fun to write. Will update as soon as I can. So many stories piled up. Sigh…**

 **Now, for you city elves and shemlen, Elvish translations:**

 **Ma emma harel- You should fear me**

 **Ar tu na'din- I will kill you**

 **Ar tu na'lin emma mi- I will see you blood on my blade**

 **Fenedhis- A common curse word**

 **Iras na ar falon- Where is my friend**

 **Dirthera ar- Tell me**

 **Emma shem'nan- My revenge is swift**

 **Dirthera na taren- Speak your mind**

 **If you haven't read Bert-Wrighty's stuff, you should most definitely check their stuff out. Like… right now. Go. Quickly.**


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